Experience
by Elle457
Summary: Max: Did anything like that ever happen to Maria when you two... Michael: No. Maxwell, let me assure you, you have not experienced anything I have not experienced many times or caused to be experienced.What exactly had Micheal done in the time before Mari


**A/N: **The following quote got me thinking and here it is for you all to enjoy!**  
**

**Max**: Did anything like that ever happen to Maria when you two...  
**Michael**: No. Maxwell, let me assure you, you have not experienced anything I have not experienced many times or caused to be experienced.

The summer before sophomore year was as uneventful as they come, especially for Michael Guerin. He was glad it was almost over. Even so, he found himself wishing that Max and Isabel would turn sixteen tomorrow so they could finally get a car and take him out of the trailer park. Every time he'd mention them getting a ride, they'd make some comment about that not being guaranteed, but it was. It was as sure as Michael not getting a car, at least not legally.

He'd spend as much time as possible laying on his bed, a Metalica CD playing in Max's old CD player. It would skip every now and then, and Michael would silently tally up how much new CD's would cost. At least if he was old enough, he could get a job. But then again, what business would put itself near the dump he called home?

There was a good side to the whole trailer park thing though. Her name was Lauren. She was his age, and the only other non-drunk or "sexually liberal" person in the park. Aside from Isabel and Max, she was his only friend. She may not have known anything about the whole alien deal, but she did understand what it was like to live somewhere you're friends are afraid to visit with someone who drinks more than they eat. She had never met Max and Isabel simply because they didn't come around here, and Michael made the walk to their house on his own. The only problem was, summer in the desert made it nearly impossible for him to trek down the highway to see them.

It was now seven o'clock and it became obvious to Michael that Hank was not coming home. He picked up the phone and dialed Lauren's number.

On the second ring she picked up, "Hello?"

"Hey. It's Michael."

"Oh hey! What's up?"

"Umm, not much. Listen, Hank's not coming home tonight, feel like coming over?"

"Sure. It's Friday, so Mom's probably out getting trashed and fondled." It was a joke, but Michael knew that it was likely true. He also knew it hurt Lauren.

"Cool, so I'll see you in a few. Bye."

"Bye."

Lauren arrived a few minutes later holding up two sandwiches wrapped in napkins. Michael took his with a smile and led her to his room. They sat on the bed and ate in silence: a sandwich was a pretty good dinner for both of them.

"So, ready to be a sophomore?" Lauren said, breaking the silence.

"Not really. It's just another year of failing classes."

Lauren smiled wide, "Well that's true for you, but I plan to ace everything."

Michael raised a disbelieving eyebrow, "Really?"

Lauren moved closer to him, and poked his chest, "Yes. I'm going to be valedictorian." Her cocky smile faded when he laughed out loud in response. "You don't think I can do it, do you?" Michael frowned too as she moved away from him.

"Oh, come on, you know I didn't mean it." He closed the space between them, giving her a quick kiss on the lips.

"That's not going to work. You can't essentially say I'm stupid and then think a kiss is going to make me feel better."

"Hey, I never said you were stupid. But valedictorian? You know there's no way anyone would beat Ray." He kissed her again, slightly longer this time, "And what's so bad about the way I kiss?" One more peck and he knew he'd done it.

He and Lauren had an unusual relationship, one that Max knew nothing about. They were friends, of course, but both of them were teenagers stuck in a place with no one else and nothing to do, so things escalated eventually. They'd gone pretty far as it was, but Michael held himself back. There was no telling what could happen if they went any further.

Lauren seemed to be thinking something different. She pulled him into a long, deep kiss. She let herself linger in his mouth, leaving him slightly breathless. It definitely did not help that they were on a bed.

"You know, I love kissing you, Michael. I always feel like I'm weightless when I do." She pulled off his T-shirt, ignoring the sweatiness of his skin. He followed her lead and undid her blouse. They made out like that for a while, touching and being touched. Michael was careful to stay above the waist.

After they had spent an hour or so in many compromising positions, Lauren slid between the sheets and kissed him on the forehead, "Goodnight."

"Is it cool with your mom if you sleep over?" He knew the answer already, but asking questions like that made them seem slightly normal, if not too Dawson's Creek-ish.

"Mom? She's probably semiconscious right now, and I doubt that she would care even if she was sober."

Michael slipped in beside her, both of them bare chested. He brought her close to him and she looked at him with watery eyes.

He knew this was not good, "What's wrong?"

"I have something I need to tell you. I don't want you to read into it as me asking for anything from you, but…I'm moving away."

"What! Where?" He was in shock. This was just fantastic! Now the only person he'd have in this forsaken place would be Hank.

"Our lease is up at the end of the summer, and Mom wants to move to Vegas." She stuck her hand down in her pocket and pulled out a slip of paper. "I know we never dated, and I don't consider you my boyfriend. I doubt you'll ever go to Vegas, but I like you, Michael. You're my friend. If you ever head over there, stop by." She handed him the paper, and he could see her new address scrawled on it. It was an apartment.

"Looks like you're getting an upgrade." He put the paper on his nightstand, beside a picture of him with Max and Isabel.

"Hm, yeah. I'm going to try now. It really is a fresh start. No one will think of me as the girl from the trailer park."

"I don't think of you like that."

"Michael, come on. You and I _never_ talk in school. I mean, we're still who we are, but you've got your friends and I've got mine. We've had a good summer. I must say, you've made it a great summer on so many levels…" She kissed him in her lingering way again. "I'm going to miss you. At first, at least. Then I'll get totally over you."

"We'll see about that," he said as he pulled her in closer, attacking her neck with his lips. She squealed out in joy and their hands slipped under the covers.

Michael woke up to see Lauren putting on her shirt, her face flushed. They hadn't gone too far last night, more because of Michael than her. Despite that, they still had some fun trying out new things, one of which Michael had enjoyed being treated to.

It was early on the last Saturday of the summer when the knock came. Hank mumbled something from the armchair and Michael went to get the door. Lauren was standing there in a tiny pair of shorts and a tank top. He knew this was goodbye. She spoke first.

"We're leaving now. I came to let you see me off."

He smiled slightly, "Hey, goodbye. I'll miss you." He pulled her into a tight hug. For some sort of comic relief, he let his hand drift down to her butt.

She playfully slapped him away, "Stop that. You've got to find someone else for that now."

"How could I ever?" His smile crept up one side of his face.

"Well, goodbye." She turned and started to leave.

As he saw her walk away, he called out, "I promise I'll come see you if I'm ever in Vegas!"

Of course, that didn't happen. But what did he know, standing in the doorway of one of the last normal days of his life, waving goodbye to a girl who didn't want to know any of his secrets.


End file.
